Recent reviews by Keebz

This game is great. Very unique, graphically impressive, relaxing/meditative experience. It doesn't really play like anything else. The best way I can describe it is a blend between Journey and Tiny Wings. It's about 2 hours long with some replay value if you want to get all unlocks/achievements.

Really enjoyed it! There were a couple cases where I got confused about where to go or how to control the ship/get it to maneuver how I wanted, but I overcame those things rather quickly. Highly recommend this if you want a replayable zen game that you can really relax with. Story was subtle yet effective.

Best fully-fledged space sim in my opinion. The X series has been around since the 90s, getting steadily better, and these devs are super committed to their games. In fact, after nearly 20 years since the original release of X3 they released a free expansion for it even when this sequel had already released. If a dev supports their stuff that long, you know they're solid.

With X4, there is still some jank that will remind you this is not an AAA game (the way humans look, for example) and the UI is a bit clunky to navigate. But none of that takes away from the other things this game nails like atmosphere, scale, and depth. Every other space sim I've played has fallen short of what I wish I could do in space -- this game nails that. I enjoy No Man's Sky too, but that is a very different end of the spectrum. NMS is more of a survival crafting & planetary exploration game than a deep space sim like X4, so I like both for different reasons.

X4 has received many updates, and the devs said they are still working on more. It's very likely this game will see support for quite some time. You really can't go wrong at least trying it. Just know that in your first few hours, you're likely barely going to get anything accomplished, and that's probably okay. This isn't an instant gratification game. Enjoy the journey and don't feel like you have to beat it to enjoy it.

Initially I gave this game a negative review because I was disappointed with how poorly it was optimized for Steam Deck. I am happy to see it receive an update when I had long since assumed that support was done for this title. They updated the whole trilogy, in fact. Better late than never and a good move from the developers. Hope they'll do it for their other games too.

Game is nostalgic and fun. This is a work created by many passionate people and they've done a great job.

Performance could use a couple more patches, as certain areas can be a bit chuggy. But that aside, it's a near perfect game with so much to explore and discover. If you play it, I bet you'll feel that same sense of awe and wonder you had when reading the books long ago. You know, back during a simpler time when people got along better and didn't get so hung up over differences in opinion.

Now, can we get a sequel with Quidditch and multiplayer please? Other wizarding schools?

Underrated gem. I have a lot more hours in this across multiple platforms but I continue to come back to this one when I'm looking for a non-shooter PVP game to play. There isn't really anything else like it.

Fun, short rhythm game. It gets better as the mechanics start to make more sense. At first I was a bit confused. The “back” button on a controller instantly restarts the level btw. Helpful tip to know.

The music seemed weird and quirky initially, but it grew on me when I learned how it can sound much better as you maintain your streak and that sweet electric guitar comes in.

If you liked Bit Trip Runner, this game is by those devs and provides similar enjoyment. If you like earning 100% achievements in such games, know that one of them in particular is near impossible for average humans. I want to go for 100% but also…I don’t hate myself that much.

Less of a review, mostly just first impressions...but this game is really fun. Why hasn't someone thought of making a third person Smash Bros. until now?

Game is great. More of this please. I daresay it is my favorite co-op shooter in a long, long time. My Steam hours are inaccurate. I had it free on Epic, but bought it on Steam because I liked it so much.I am not certain how the experience would be as a solo player, but I can say the game is a blast with the right friend. I've beaten it and I'm about to replay it. I absolutely loved the gameplay, the atmosphere, the graphics. It didn't overstay its welcome (I think it was somewhere around 10-13 hours?) but has replay value. Looking forward to trying the DLC.

Honestly, some reviews say "souls game with guns." I am so glad it's not that. Nothing against souls games, but I don't think it is an accurate depiction. Aside from the "bonfire" mechanics, it feels more like a Gears of War game with more RPG elements. Very enjoyable in 2 player co op. I'm about to try it in 3 player co-op so we'll see if that holds true.

Now that I've had the chance to play more, I can say that, for me, this game is something special. It takes a good 3-4 hours to start showing that, however. New systems keep opening up, and it becomes more and more fun as they do. Don't give up on it too early. If you like Final Fantasy and/or Stardew Valley, there is a good chance you'll appreciate what is offered here. It's also a very pretty game. I keep taking screenshots. That said, I do have a few minor gripes. See my original review below for those.

----ORIGINAL REVIEW----
Well, despite having basically zero graphics options, the game runs well and looks good. But come on Square! You did this with FF7 remake too! Providing options is essential in PC gaming for game preservation and allowing the game to run well on various configurations.

No mouse support in menus other than clicking the button to accept/cancel things. In actual gameplay, thankfully, the camera is controlled by the mouse and it actually feels good to play on mouse and keyboard. No ultrawide support, unfortunately. Music is beautiful. Voice acting would have been nice...there is none here. No way to skip cutscenes. Despite these relatively minor gripes the game does seem fun. Runs well on Steam Deck. Easy 60fps with 3-4 hours of battery.

**Major stutter issues on Steam Deck by default. Here is the workaround for now.**

Usually the Proton versions of native Linux games work better in my experience. However this is not true for CrossCode.

Perhaps some people that aren't sensitive to stutter will not recognize it, but I guarantee it's there. Turn on the frame time graph overlay in the Steam Deck's quick access menu and you'll see what I am talking about. Spikes all over the place especially when moving to a new room.

You can force the game to run the Linux version by going into the game's properties in Steam and selecting the Compatibility tab, and then forcing it to use "Steam Linux Runtime" (scroll down). It will then download an update, which will swap out any Windows-specific files with Linux ones.

**HOWEVER** this isn't all you need to do.

You need to be in Desktop mode when you do this. Then, in the properties for the game click Local Files --> Browse. Double click on CrossCode to launch the game. This is the Linux executable.

If you don't click on this file and just try to launch through Steam, the game simply will not boot.

Anyways, try this in Desktop mode and you'll see what I mean - the game is perfectly smooth once you've switched to the Linux build.

Hopefully this can be fixed. It's really unfortunate. But until then, here is a workaround for Steam Deck users.

Edit: A user named Scrumplex has actually created a tool that will allow the native Linux version to work in gaming mode, and cloud saves work too! Grab it here and follow the instructions.

https://github.com/Scrumplex/Steam-Play-None

You just need to extract this file to this directory:

/home/deck/.local/share/Steam/compatibilitytools.d/

Then you can see a new option called "None" in the Compatibility tab of the game's Steam properties, when you go to force a specific compatibility tool. Note that achievements will not work with this method, but the game will be smooth. And apparently temporarily switching back to the Proton version will unlock any achievements you have earned.